If you are looking for a definitive ranking of those wonderful, fruit (and occasionally vegetable) flavored waters served at Harris that we have come to know and love, you have come to the right place. I took the task of taste-testing all of the flavored waters offered at Harris and have evaluated each of them based on their flavor. Unfortunately, I was not able to taste the notorious celery parsley water that graced the NESCAC Barstool Instagram page, but I have ranked twelve of Harris’ flavored waters from worst to best.
Without further ado, here are the rankings!
- Cucumber celery: Although I dodged a bullet by not being able to try the celery parsley water, this celery-flavored water was definitely not a palate cleanser. After I tried this drink, I said to myself, “Who knew water could have such an intense vegetable flavor?” Drinking this water reminded me of a sketch in Portlandia where Steve Buscemi played a struggling celery- turned- bacon salesman to try to boost sales for his product. It’s a known fact: celery’s bitter flavor pairs well with a small number of foods and beverages, and water is not one of them.
- Pineapple: This was one of the many waters that barely tasted like the fruit that was in it. I will show a bit of my fruit bias and state that I did not mind that it did not taste like pineapple, as I find the fruit too sweet for my taste. However, I would recommend if Harris serves this beverage again to pair the pineapple with melon, grapes, or strawberries. I think that a fruit salad water could potentially be a refreshing offering for Conn students!
- Pear: The pear water was nearly completely devoid of pear flavor, which was a bit disappointing, as I do enjoy pears on occasion. If the pear water is served again, I would recommend adding cinnamon, as Harris has done with its apple cinnamon water. Pears also have a very muted flavor on their own, so it would be beneficial to add an additional fruit, perhaps peaches (again, another fruit that to my knowledge hasn’t been served in a water).
- Lemon: While I usually do not like lemon water, I was particularly disappointed that the lemon did not come through in this water. However, the lemon-lime water (which I will review later on this list) and lemon-grapefruit water tasted excellent.
- Grape: Speaking of waters that did not have a lot of flavor, the grape water unfortunately lacked pizzaz. My friend, Katherine Farr ‘21, noted that the reason for this was because “you need to peel the grapes for flavor.” The grapes that were in Harris’s water were unpeeled. I am unsure if the Harris staff has the time to peel grapes for water, but if possible, peeled grapes could provide an excellent flavor to the water. Additionally, a mix of red and green grapes in the water could be delicious.
- Kiwi: To be honest, I have not eaten a lot of kiwis in my life, but this kiwi water was not bad! The flavor was pretty subtle and would make a great addition to a strawberry kiwi water blend. Also notable was the fact that the kiwi was peeled, thus adding more flavor to the water.
- Apple Cinnamon: When I originally tried the apple cinnamon water, it lacked flavor. However, I first tried this water in the morning before my 9 AM class. My friend Sam Marsh ‘21 brought up the fact that the flavor of the water may not come through until lunchtime and that I should try it again. When I tried it again later, it tasted like cinnamon and it was not as unappealing as I had imagined it would be. If I was to do this taste test again, I would make sure to try all of the waters during lunch or later in the day to make sure that all of the flavors had enough of a chance to come through.
- Grapefruit: Grapefruit is another one of those fruits that I find a bit abrasive. As a twenty-two year old, I do love White Claw drinks, but Ruby Grapefruit is without a doubt the worst flavor in the White Claw catalog. I was surprised, then, when I found the grapefruit water refreshing. I think that adding grapefruit to the water lightened the flavor and made it palatable.
- Cucumber mint: I am shocked that I am ranking this water option so high, especially since the last time I had cucumber water I did not enjoy it. However, I found this water refreshing, and the mint brings out the cucumber very well. I would definitely enjoy this water on a spa day.
- Lemon-Lime: While I found the lemon water to be bland, the lemon-lime water was fantastic, as the fruits complement each other perfectly! Additionally, I found this lemon-lime water to be a lighter alternative to lemonade or limeade, and I think it would be an excellent summertime beverage.
- Orange: Similarly to the lemon-lime water, I found the orange water delicious, even more so than orange juice or orange Vitamin Water. This water is a great, healthy choice for breakfast.
- Watermelon: I cannot sing the praises of the watermelon water enough. I have tried various watermelon-flavored beverages before and found them to be too strong. However, this one was nice and light, again, another fantastic summertime beverage. This water would also taste excellent with mint, as watermelon and mint are a classic dessert and cocktail pairing.
Overall, I found Harris’ new flavored waters initiatives to be relatively successful, or at least that they have the potential to be more successful. If there was any future advice I would give to those who prepare the flavored waters, it would be to use fruits such as pomegranates, raspberries, and strawberries; to pair more fruits together to create more dynamic waters; and finally, to stay away from celery.
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